Magic and Family
by Sassylou
Summary: The continued adventures of Arthur and FemMerlin as they start their lives together. This is the SEQUEL to Magic and Love, and it's told from Arthur's perspective.
1. One: Nerdy

**So, here's the next Arthur and FemMerlin story! I've decided, that this time, I'm going to put the date at the top of each chapter. I hope that you guys all enjoy it. Oh, and this one will be told from Arthur's point of view, which I think will be kind of cool. It's nice to get things from his perspective.**

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><p><strong>FEBRUARY 7<strong>

I paced.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

I couldn't help it. I was nervous. I was extremely nervous.

I _hated_ being nervous.

It was the worst feeling in the world.

And there really wasn't any reason for me to _be_ nervous. Merlin loved me. I loved Merlin. Sure, we had our fights. Every couple did. But we worked them out. We were good together. We were _really_ good together.

Man, I wished I could have another chat with Lance about this whole proposal and marriage thing. He at least had some experience. Granted, he'd only been married for four months so far. Still, he knew more than I did at this point.

Deep breath.

I just needed to calm down. I was getting myself worked up over nothing. She was going to say yes. I was positive she was going to say yes. Well, I was pretty sure she was going to say yes.

Maybe.

"She _better_ say yes," I grumbled to myself, "if I'm going to be nerdy about it."

Yes, I was going to give Merlin a nerdy proposal. Me, Arthur Pendragon, was going to nerdy.

But I _really_ did love that girl. I was willing to be nerdy for her, once in a while. I knew it would mean a lot more to her if I went out of my comfort zone with this. She _knew_ I didn't like acting nerdy. Yet here I was, doing it for her. Man, I really was in love with this girl.

Just then, I got a text from Lance.

SHE JUST PARKED.

Thank goodness Lance had agreed to be my lookout. The warning was good for me.

THANKS.

I took another deep breath. Then I sat on the couch and picked up the Harry Potter book. I wasn't really sure which one in the series it was. One of the last ones, I thought. I opened it and started pretending to read.

I had cut a rectangle out of most of the pages, leaving a hollow space. Almost like a shadowbox. I made sure that the title, The Unbreakable Vow, was visible. Then I'd tied the ring inside. As soon as she took the book from me – which I knew she'd do – she would see it.

Of course, I'd gotten the idea from the internet. But whatever. Merlin would love it. She better love it.

Merlin walked in the door. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't move my head. I pretended to be immersed in the story. Which, just to be clear, never happened with me. I didn't get immersed into stories the way my girlfriend did.

"Hey," she greeted.

I grunted in response.

"Okay, what could you possibly be reading that has you, Arthur Pendragon, so focused? You hate to read." I very carefully showed her the cover, keeping the inside of the book hidden from her view. "Um…you do know that's the sixth one in the series, right? The sixth one out of seven. And what made you decide to _finally_ read the books? You've always told me that you were content to just watch the movies and not read the books."

I just shrugged. It wasn't like that had actually changed. I didn't plan to read any of the books.

"Well, what part are you at?" she asked, sounding impatient. She always wanted to talk about books. She and Gwen could go on for hours about the books they've read.

I didn't answer. I hoped she couldn't hear my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

Merlin sighed, and grabbed the book from me. She looked inside. Her jaw dropped, but she didn't say anything. She just stared at the book. Uh-oh. That couldn't be a good sign, could it? She should have said something.

Finally, after about five minutes of silence, I couldn't take it anymore. "Merlin?" I asked.

She punched me in the arm. Hard. Uh, I was pretty sure that wasn't how a girl responded to a proposal if she was going to accept it. "You _cut_ a Harry Potter book?" she demanded, her eyes fierce. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Uh…" I wasn't even sure how to respond to that.

"I mean, it's genius, of course. The Unbreakable Vow. That's clever. Really, really clever. Brilliant, even. But you completely defiled this book. You can't do that. That's just -"

I kissed her. I just wanted to get her to shut up for a few minutes, and stop talking about me defiling the book. I pulled back, looking into her eyes. "Merlin Ava Emrys, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me? Please?"

She frowned. "Well, duh. I thought I already said that I -"

I kissed her again, I was so happy.

"Best. Birthday. Ever," she whispered against my lips.


	2. Two: Approval

**FEBRUARY 9**

I pulled up to the restaurant, mentally steeling myself. My dad wasn't going to be happy. He still didn't like Merlin. Whenever I tried to talk about her to him, he changed the subject. He didn't even want me to talk about her being my girlfriend. He wasn't going to be happy that I was planning to marry Merlin. He thought she was weird.

Well, she _was_ weird. But in a cute way. My dad didn't agree with that, though.

I saw my father the instant I walked into the restaurant. He just had that kind of…presence. It was annoying.

I sat down across from him. "Hey, Dad." I was a little nervous. I couldn't help it. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I had been when I'd proposed to Merlin, but I was still nervous.

"Son," he greeted. He didn't even bother looking up from whatever he was doing on his phone.

I really didn't like these father-son lunches that we had. Dad insisted on them about once a month. It was supposed to be a chance for us to catch up with each other. It ended up being Dad talking on his phone nearly the entire time. Doing work stuff.

It was awkward. Every time. I hated it, but he kept insisting on them.

About halfway through the meal, I set down my silverware and cleared my throat. My dad didn't have his phone to his ear for once. I wasn't sure how long I'd have before he got another call. Or before he checked his email. Or before he got a text. Or...whatever. I needed to take this chance, before it got away from me.

"Uh, Dad," I said loudly. "I…I have some news. Important news."

He glanced up. "Yes?"

"Well, the night before last, I…I proposed. To my girlfriend, Merlin. And she said yes. We're going to get married. Probably sometime in October or November."

"The nerd girl?" he asked incredulously.

"Dad."

"The _nerd_ girl?"

"Dad, she's not -" I forced myself to stop talking. Merlin _was_ a nerd. She was a huge nerd. That would never change. "Merlin and I love each other. So what if she's a little…different?"

Dad stared at me. "A _little_ different? Son, she's a freak."

I felt my anger build. She was a nerd, sure. She was a little weird. But she was not a freak. "She is not a freak," I nearly growled. "She's the woman that I love. So what if she's a little weird? That's one of the things that I love about her. She's not afraid to be herself. She's not afraid to tell me what she thinks. She makes me a better _me_, and she makes me happy. There's no reason that I shouldn't marry her."

My father shook his head, like I was some spoiled kid and he was just indulging me. "It'll never last," he said, which was exactly what he'd _been_ saying since I started dating Merlin. "You'll realize that she's not…right for you. She's not a good fit for you."

I threw down my napkin. I'd had just about enough of his crap. "No, she's not a good fit for _you_. She's a perfect fit for me. That's never going to change, Dad, so you need to just learn to accept it. I'll always love her. And I _am_ going to marry her, even if that means we have to elope or something."

He snorted, shaking his head. He truly didn't believe me. He couldn't _see_ how much I really did love my gir- fiancée. "It won't last," he said again. "You'll come to your senses and call it off. It's just a matter of time."

"You are so…" I trailed off. I couldn't even finish my thought, I was so angry. Taking a deep breath, I tried again. "That's not going to happen. I _am_ going to marry Merlin Emrys, whether you approve or not."

And with that, I stood up and stomped out of the restaurant.


	3. Three: Plans

**FEBRUARY 22**

Merlin and I were sitting at our desks, working on homework for separate classes. I noticed that Merlin wasn't getting very far. She kept staring at her left hand. She'd been doing that a lot over the past couple weeks. Every time I saw her do it, it made me happy. I was just happy in general. I was going to marry the love of my life. We were going to be together forever.

I smirked. "Did I do a good job in picking out your ring?"

She jumped, startled. She blushed slightly. "You did awesome. Why did you choose a citrine as the center stone? Not that I'm complaining or anything. I actually love it, even though it's not my favorite color. It just seems like an odd choice for an engagement ring. Most people go with diamonds."

I looked down, blushing slightly. "Well, you are not like most people. I know that. I chose a citrine because it's the same shade that your eyes flash whenever you use magic. It took me forever to find just the right color of gemstone." It seriously took me _hours_ to find the right one. Lance kept making fun of me and telling me that I was being stupid for taking so much time.

She looked surprised. "You matched the ring to my _eyes_? You really put a lot of thought and effort into that. How did you know the exact color of my eyes when they flash? I didn't think you'd ever paid that close of attention to my eyes."

"Well, I kind of…I love your magic. And I love how your eyes change color when you use it. So, yeah, I thought it was a good idea to match it to your eyes."

She smiled. "Well, that's a nice change, you loving my magic. When did you start getting comfortable with my magic?"

I shrugged. "It's been a while now." I remembered the exact moment it happened, too. We had been swimming, during the summer, in the pool. There had been a family swimming, too. One of the little boys had gone under and started to drown. The dad had pulled him out of the water and started doing CPR. Merlin had used her magic to get the water out of the boy's lungs. She had denied it later, said that the water must have just come up on its own, but I know I had seen her eyes flashed. I was pretty sure she saved that boy's life. For some reason, seeing her magic be used in that way, to save a life, had made me realize that magic was not to be feared.

"I'm -"

"Hello, dear brother of mine!" my sister's voice called out. "And future sister-in-law!"

Merlin sighed, looking at me. "We could hide in here," she suggested in a whisper. "I'll lock the door with magic. She'll never know. She might leave and we wouldn't have to deal with her at all today. I love your sister, but I don't want to deal with her today. I have a lot of homework."

"I think that's a great id-" I broke off when Morgana burst into the office. She had a stack of bridal magazines in her arms. I stared at my fiancée in horror. "Uh, what are you doing?" I asked flatly. Bridal magazines sent me into a panic. I wanted to marry Merlin, but I hated the planning part of it. And we hadn't even really started it!

Probably because I kept panicking whenever wedding plans were brought up.

"We need to start planning this wedding. Knowing the two of you, you probably haven't even started any wedding plans yet. You probably don't even have a date yet."

"October seventeenth," Merlin and I answered in unison. That was the very first thing that we had decided. The only thing we had decided so far, really.

"Well, that's something. I'm guessing you don't really have anything else figured out, though."

She didn't really give us time to answer before she plops the stacks of magazines down. Not that she was wrong, though. "That's okay, because I am here to help you plan. Let's get started."

I groaned.


	4. Four: Awkward

**MARCH 4**

I scrubbed my car. Merlin was with her mom, addressing the wedding invitations for her side of the family and her friends. I just finished addressing mine yesterday. They just needed to have stamps put on them and to be put in the mailbox. My wrist was still aching, even though both Morgana and my mother helped me.

It was real. This wedding was really happening. It hadn't really seemed real until we had a pile of labeled envelopes sitting on the coffee table. For some reason, that thought didn't make me nervous. The more real it got, the _less_ nervous I got. I was glad it was happening.

Morgana's car pulled up. She parked in the spot next to me. She got out, grinning like a maniac. I groaned, a bad feeling in my gut. "Oh, man. I know that look. What do you want?"

"Where's Merlin? We really need to figure out -"

"I'm just going to stop you right there," I said. I knew exactly what she was going to say. She was going to want to talk about the wedding. And I still hated wedding plans. "No. No wedding stuff right now. Merlin's with her mom, and I don't really know when she'll be back. I am not making any kind of wedding plans without her. She'll kill me because I'd probably screw it up and make a decision that she'd hate."

Sighing heavily, my sister sat on the hood of her car. She smirked at me. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like whatever came out of her mouth next. "Well, in that case, I have some questions for you that I've just been _dying_ to ask. I mean, I've been wanting to ask you since you and Merlin moved in together."

"Okay," I said suspiciously. This was going to be bad. I just knew it.

"How's the sex?"

I dropped my sponge, shocked. I stared at her in horror, then shook my head. It took me a few seconds to get a coherent sentence out. That truly had not been what I'd expected her to ask. I knew it was going to be bad, but I hadn't expected _that_."No. No, no, no. I am not going to have that conversation with you. Gross. You're my _sister_. Ugh. That's disgusting."

She just laughed. "Oh, the look on your face. Priceless. Calm down, Arthur. I don't want to know details of your love life. Ew. That would just be completely disgusting."

"Good, cuz I'm not telling you." I could feel my face reddening. That was not a conversation that I ever wanted to have with my sister.

Before it could get any more awkward than it already was, Merlin pulled up. I breathed a small sigh of relief. I wasn't going to have to figure out a way to get out of this topic of conversation.

"Hey," I greeted, as she got out of her car. "Did you get all of the invitations done?"

She held up a stack of envelopes. "Yeah, and now my wrist feels like it's on fire. They just need to be stamped and sent off. What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," I said.

At the same time, Morgana said, "Your sex life."

My sister laughed at the look on Merlin's face. I just wanted to die, personally.


	5. Five: Gift

**MARCH 15**

I knocked on the door even as I opened it. I knew my dad wouldn't be home – he had a meeting today. He was still convinced that my engagement was "just a phase," which meant that I was still irritated with him. I'd been avoiding him. I tried not to visit if I knew he was going to be home. I didn't want anything to do with him, not until he could accept Merlin for who she was.

"Hey, Mom!" I called, when I didn't see her in the living room.

She emerged from the kitchen, smiling. "Hi, sweetie." She kissed my cheek and hugged me. "How are you?"

"Good."

"How are the wedding plans coming?"

Ugh, why'd she have to ask about _that_. I'd come over to get _away_ from wedding…crap. "I don't like planning a wedding," I told her. Which was a huge understatement. It was very overwhelming to me, all the flowers and place settings and seating arrangements.

Mom laughed softly. "Most men don't. So have you given Merlin free reign, then?"

"Just about. I told her that she could have nerdy _references_, but they had to be subtle. That's about all that I can take. She's not allowed to have a Tardis replica or Stormtrooper guards or anything like that. She's promised to restrain herself."

I wasn't so sure she'd be able to actually restrain herself, though. She struggled with that. Then again, she had kept the office subtle when she had decorated it. She could restrain herself on occasion, at least. But this was a very important day for her. I didn't really think that she would want to restrain herself too much.

Mom smiled again, chuckling. She found Merlin's nerdiness endearing, much like I did. "I'm so happy for you, Arthur. You've found a good girl, who will make you happy. Oh, by the way, I have a surprise for you. Well, it's really for you _and_ Merlin."

"What?" My mother sometimes did some interesting things for gifts. I had no idea what my mother would have gotten for me and my future wife as a gift.

"Your dad and I are going to pay for your honeymoon, and anything else you might need. If you need something, _anything_, you let me know. I'll take care of it. I know that you're going to keep things simple, and try not to spend a lot, but we want to help if you need anything."

I arched an eyebrow at her. I got the sense that this was not something my father had agreed to. He wouldn't agree to helping pay for my wedding to Merlin. "Dad's agreed to pay for part of my wedding to a nerdy girl? _Any_ part? He thinks Merlin is a nerdy freak and that she's not good enough for me. Why would he want to help pay for my wedding?"

"Well, he hasn't exactly agreed yet. I haven't even asked him yet. But I don't care. I have a checkbook, and I'm going to use it to help with my only son's wedding. Your father is just going to have to deal with it."

I grinned. My mom was truly an amazing person. She was stubborn, too. "Thanks, Mom. I appreciate that a lot. I know Merlin will."

Mom got a huge smile on her face. "And I want you guys to know that you can go wherever you want. Even Great Britain."

"Oh, Merlin will love you forever. And I can guarantee that she will want to go to Great Britain. She'll wan to see Big Ben, and visit the BBC set."

"I know."

I was quiet for a minute, thinking about my dad. I just wished that he could learn to accept her.

"What is it?" Mom asked.

I sighed. "Do you think Dad will ever accept Merlin?"

"He'll come around eventually."

"When?"

Now it was her turn to sigh. "I don't know, sweetie. Eventually."


	6. Six: Shopping

**Okay, so I posted chapter six, and then I realized that I posted the wrong chapter. So, here's the real chapter six. Sorry about that.**

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><p><strong>APRIL 21<strong>

I walked out of my math class, juggling my stack of books. Merlin was waiting in a chair in the hall. She must have gotten out of her own class early. She looked up, hearing me approach her, and smiled. "Ready to go shopping?" she asked. She was grinning slightly.

I scowled. I'd completely forgotten about those plans. I still wasn't sure _how_ she'd convinced me to go along with it. "Do I really have to go with you? It's my birthday." I couldn't keep a whine out of my voice when I said it.

She pressed a fierce kiss to my lips. "I promise I'll make it worthwhile," she whispered, slipping her fingers into my belt loops and pulling me closer.

Oh. _That_ was how she'd convinced me.

"Merlin," I argued, trying to keep my thoughts straight. It was extremely difficult with the way her hands were distracting me. "I really don't need to go with you. You can decorate however you want. I don't care. I don't need to be there with you."

She arched an eyebrow. "I can decorate however I want? So if I want a Tardis picture booth, I can rent one of those?"

I should have know she'd be ridiculous. "Well, no. I don't…Wait. You can seriously rent a Tardis picture booth?"

"Oh, for sure. You can get just about anything on the internet now. Can I please do a _Doctor Who_ theme?" she begged, clasping her hands in a prayer position. She jutted out her lower lip. "There is so much cool stuff I could do with that. It would be so amazing. I will be fairly subtle about it, I promise. Please? Can I please, please do a _Doctor Who_ theme?"

I hesitated. I wanted her to be happy, of course. A wedding _was_ supposed to be the bride's thing, and doing something nerdy would make my bride happy. And I knew she was capable of being nerdy in a subtle way. On the other hand, I really wasn't thrilled about having a nerdy wedding. My dad would hate it. If he even showed up at the wedding.

Even if I did love _Doctor Who_.

"Oh, come on," she insisted. "This is going to be one of the very most important days of my entire life. I may only get to do it once."

I narrowed my eyes at her. I couldn't quite tell if she was being funny or serious. "What in the world is that supposed to mean? You think our marriage won't last?"

She just shrugged, smirking. Well, at least I could tell that she was teasing me. "Well, you never know. You screw up a lot."

"Oh, _I_ screw up a lot? You screw up way more than I do!"

"I do not! That's a filthy lie! You-" she broke off suddenly, sighing. "This a really stupid fight. We _both_ screw up, and it's about equal. And we're both stubborn and pig-headed and we don't like to admit that we screw up."

"You're right. Are you really worried about us not working out?" I had to ask, just to be sure. I was pretty sure that she was teasing, but I wanted to be certain.

Merlin smiled softly at me. "Arthur, I was teasing. I think we'll be fine, as long as we're always willing to work on our relationship. Sure, we're going to have fights. But we'll get through them. Now, what I'm _really_ worried about is your dad. He's still convinced that you're going to call it off, isn't he?"

I sighed. "He'll come around, eventually."

Merlin didn't look any more convinced than I felt.


	7. Seven: Graduation

**This chapter is shorter. Sorry about that.**

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><p><strong>JUNE 16<strong>

I couldn't help but smile as I walked into the university auditorium. I was so proud of my fiancée. She had worked so hard to get to where she was. She deserved this.

"Arthur!"

Hunith was waving me over to where she sat beside her husband. I took the seat next to Balinor. "Is your mother here?" Hunith asked. "I _still_ haven't had a chance to meet her. Or your father. I'm feeling a little left out, Arthur."

I struggled not to scowl. My father flat-out refused to come. He was still trying to avoid any contact or mention of Merlin. And my mother was out of town for some conference. She would have come if she could have. "My parents are out of town this week," I said. It was half-true, anyway.

"Don't you have your degree now, too? Why aren't you walking in the ceremony tonight?"

"Well, I technically don't have my degree yet. I only have one more class to take. I could have walked, but I chose not to. I figured I'd walk when I get my Bachelor's degree."

Hunith nodded. "That makes sense."

"Besides, this way it can be Merlin's day. She won't have to share it with me."

Before either of us could say more, the ceremony began.

Balinor, who I'd never really gotten to know well, leaned close to me. "By the way," he threatened quietly, "if you _ever_ hurt my daughter, I will kill you. Painfully."

I gulped nervously. I'd never had a chance to be threatened by my future father-in-law. I hadn't really thought that he would. I didn't doubt his ability, either. After all, Merlin had inherited her powers from him. My imagination didn't even begin to cover what he could potentially do to me. "I don't plan on it, sir."

"You better not. You already hurt her once, when she told you about her magic. Don't let it happen again."

"Of course not, sir."

"What are you boys whispering so intently about?" Hunith asked.

"Nothing," Balinor and I said together.

She didn't look convinced, but she dropped it.

We all turned our attention back to the ceremony.


	8. Eight: Fight

**AUGUST 3**

"Hey, Mom!" I greeted, walking into the kitchen. Mom was placing a pie in the oven. I kissed her cheek. "Mmm. I'm glad I came over. What kind of pie is that?"

She slapped my hand away before I could even think about touching the pie. "It's not for you. I have a Book Club meeting tonight. _You_ don't get any."

"I could be your taste-tester. You don't want to take a pie that doesn't taste good to your Book Club. You really should have a taste-tester."

"No. I don't need a taste-tester. My pies are always perfect. What's going on?"

"Nothing, really. Merlin's out with her mom and Gwen and Morgana to find the bridesmaid's dresses. I figured I'd stop by to see you for a bit."

Mom narrowed her eyes at me. "You just didn't want anything to do with dress shopping, right?"

I didn't answer her. But I think she knew that I really didn't want anything to do with dress shopping.

"We really need to get together with her parents, your dad and I. I want to meet them and get to know them."

"Get to know who?" my dad asked, walking into the kitchen.

I immediately tensed. I knew he was going to be rude as soon as he found out who we were talking about. And then, once he got rude, I would get mad. That would just lead to a huge fight between me and my father.

Mom just smiled. She truly believed that Dad would just suddenly get over his dislike of my fiancée. She thought that he would just wake up one morning and think that Merlin was a wonderful woman. "Hello, dear. We're talking about Merlin's parents. We really should have dinner together with them sometime."

"Merlin who?"

I rolled my eyes. Seriously? He was going to play it like that? He was seriously going to pretend that he didn't know who Merlin was. "Merlin _Emrys_, Dad. My fiancée. Your future daughter-in-law. Don't be such a jerk."

"Arthur Christopher Pendragon," Mom scolded. "Do not call your father a jerk."

My dad looked pissed. "You need to change your attitude, young man. Why should I bother learning the girl's name? You won't go through with this ridiculous wedding."

I shook my head. "You know what? I am so _sick_ of this. I _am_ going to marry her. You won't be able to talk me out of it, so just stop trying. And stop being so...rude about her."

"That is it! If you marry her, you will lose your chance to take over Camelot Corporation."

He really thought that was a good threat? "I don't _care_, Dad. Merlin means more to me than the stupid company. If you force me to make that choice, I'll choose her. Every time." He stared at me, like he couldn't understand that I could actually choose a nerdy girl over the company. "I love her, Dad. I _want_ to spend the rest of my life with her. So if you want to fire me, go ahead."

Dad didn't say anything.

I threw my hands up in the air. "Fire me, if that's what you really want. I don't care."

Still, he didn't say anything.

I snorted. "That's what I thought." With that, I left. And maybe I was walking away from a chance to become the CEO of Camelot Corporation, but I would rather have Merlin than a company.


	9. Nine: Bachelor Party

**This is another really short chapter. I thought about keeping it out, but I think it's good. Short and sweet.**

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><p><strong>OCTOBER 16<strong>

I sat in the passenger seat of Lance's car as he pulled into the parking lot, nervous and worried. I was nervous about my wedding the next day. I was worried because _Gwaine_ had somehow ended up in charge of my bachelor party. It was a scary thought. And I honestly didn't know it had happened. It was supposed to be Lance who planned this thing. Not Gwaine, the party animal of our group.

"Any ideas on what he's got planned?" I asked.

"None."

"How did Gwaine get put in charge of the bachelor party, anyway? Isn't that the Best Man's job?" I gave my Best Man a very pointed look.

He looked a bit sheepish. "I'm not really sure how it happened. I asked Percival to do it. The next thing I knew, Gwaine was in charge. Sorry, man."

I sighed. "Well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it now. Do _not_ let me do anything stupid. Merlin's magic can be scary. And if I do anything stupid, she will use her magic on me. I'd rather not have donkey ears." I scowled at that memory. I doubted that was even the worst she could do with her magic.

"I'll try my best," he promised, as we walked into Gwaine's apartment.

Gwaine grinned at us, holding a red plastic cup. I arched an eyebrow at him. "Really? You're going to _start_ the night with alcohol? How'd you even get that? You're still underage."

He just smiled. "I have my ways, man."

Lance and I shook our heads. "Whatever. I hope you don't expect me to do any drinking tonight," I told Gwaine. "I don't want to be hungover on my wedding day."

"You're no fun."

"Whatever."

"Just tell me that you didn't plan anything too crazy. Please."

He smirked evilly.

I groaned. "Oh, no. I'm screwed."


	10. Ten: Wedding

**OCTOBER 17**

I couldn't sit still. I paced across the room, back and forth. I kept fixing my bowtie, even though it didn't need to be fixed. I just couldn't...I couldn't stop moving. Lance stood nearby, fixing his wristcuffs. Percy was out of the room, checking on the guests. Leon and Elyan were fixing their own bowties. And Gwaine sat against the wall, holding his head. He had a massive hangover.

I was so glad I didn't do any drinking last night. I didn't have to deal with a major headache or anything. Not on top of everything else.

Still, maybe I wouldn't be so nervous if I had done some drinking. It might have taken the edge off of my nerves a bit.

Lance grinned at me, sensing my emotions. He was my best friend. He had an annoying habit of knowing what I was thinking before I even had a chance to say anything. "You'll be fine, Arthur," he said. "You and Merlin are good together, and you love each other."

"I know, I know. It's just…" I trailed off, not exactly sure of what I was trying to say.

"You can't help but be nervous," he supplied for me. "I totally get it. I was the same way just before my wedding, remember?"

I couldn't help but grin a little. I remembered that night pretty clearly. "You were a complete wreck. Merlin had to calm you down with magic, it was so bad. I'm not that bad. I'm not nearly that bad." I hoped I wasn't that bad. Maybe I was that bad. Oh, crap. I probably _was_ that bad.

"I'm not saying that you're that mad. What I'm saying is that it's perfectly normal to be nervous before your wedding."

"But why?" I asked. "Why should I be nervous at all? It's stupid. I love Merlin, and I know that she loves me. Why am I so nervous? I don't get it."

"Because _everybody_ gets nervous. It's a human thing. Even the amazing Arthur Pendragon is human enough to get nervous on his wedding day. If you weren't nervous, I'd be worried."

Percy walked into the room just then. "It's time," he said. He had a small smile on his face, though I had no idea why he would be smiling.

I looked at my best friend and Best Man. "You've got the rings?"

He nodded. "Yep."

I led my groomsmen into the ballroom. We got into our places at the end of the aisle, near the officiant. I straightened my suit one last time.

I straightened my bowtie again, looking out at the crowd of guests. Why couldn't I stop adjusting things? I saw Hunith and my mother sitting beside each other, talking quietly together. Balinor sat on the other side of Hunith. And, surprisingly, my dad sat next to my mom.

Last I'd heard, he wasn't planning on coming at all. This was a good sign. Maybe he'd finally learned to accept Merlin.

I caught his eye. He smiled timidly. I tried not to be too stunned by that.

And then the bridal music started, and Balinor came out with Merlin on his arm.

She was stunning. Without a doubt, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever had the chance to lay eyes on. I was the luckiest man alive.


	11. Eleven: Lost

**Here's another chapter! This one has Arthur and Merlin's very first major fight since they got married.**

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><p><strong>THANKSGIVING<strong>

My hands clenched the steering wheel tight enough that my knuckles were white. I could _sense_ Merlin glaring at me. I practically felt the anger rolling off of her. I didn't understand how she could _still_ be mad about it. It had happened hours ago, and we'd gotten there.

Eventually.

Plus, she'd acted all friendly and smiley and everything at the dinner. But as soon as we got into the car, she started glaring at me again.

"We were an _hour_ late," she nearly growled, as I parked the car back at our building.

"I wasn't lost," I responded, before she could even say anything else. I'd only repeated this about twenty times, to no avail. I got out of the car and slammed my door.

Merlin shook her head, getting out of the car. "Are you serious right now?" I began walking toward the apartment, my wife on my tail."You were totally lost…To your own uncle's house! If you had just turned when I'd told you to, we would have made it to Thanksgiving dinner on time. How is it that I know the way to your uncle's house better than you do? That's just sad."

"Oh, whatever," I grumbled, going into the apartment. I made my way toward the bedroom. She was completely overreacting about this whole thing.

Sighing, Merlin pushed roughly past me. She took her pillows and the comforter off the bed. I frowned. "What are you doing?"

"If you can't even have the decency to admit that you're wrong, then I don't want to be anywhere near you right now. I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Merlin, don't be stupid."

She stormed out of the room, not answering me.

"Fine!" I yelled after her. "Throw a hissy fit about the whole thing! See if I care! I'll sleep on the nice, comfortable bed and you can have the crappy couch!"

Still no response.

I dressed in my pajamas and then brushed my teeth. Then I grabbed the extra fleece blanket that we kept at the end of the bed and threw myself down onto the bed.

I tried to fall asleep and couldn't. I tossed and turned. I missed Merlin's warmth. I missed the cute way that she slept with her legs entwined with mine. And, of course, I realized that she was right about the whole thing. I had been stubborn and idiotic, and that had caused us to be late for Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle Agravaine's house.

Damn it. Merlin was right.

With a sigh, I got out of bed. I wasn't going to let Merlin sleep on the crappy couch. I'd carry her to bed, and then apologize to her as soon as I got the chance. I had been the one who was wrong, not Merlin. She shouldn't have to suffer and sleep on the crappy crouch.

When I got into the living room, though, I saw that Merlin was still awake. She sat on the couch, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she asked me.

I sat beside her, sighing. "No. I'm sorry. I was being a stubborn idiot earlier. You were right. If I had just listened to you, we wouldn't have gotten lost. Sorry."

She sighed. "Yeah, I may have overreacted. It wasn't _that_ big of a deal. We did get there before the meal actually started. I'm sorry I got so mad."

I kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry, too. Come back to bed?"

"Yeah."


	12. Twelve: Sick

**DECEMBER 9**

I stood at the stove, cooking dinner. One of Merlin's favorites. Finger steaks, French bread, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn. Meanwhile, she was on the couch, wrapped in a fleece blanket, with a box of Kleenexes nearby.

"You want some herbal tea, Merlin?" I called.

"Yeah," she responded in a stuffy voice. Then she sneezed loudly. "Uh-oh," I heard her mutter.

I tried not to groan as I put the water on to boil. Nothing good ever came from her saying those words. When she said those words, it usually meant that something had been broken or turned into some kind of animal or something. "What did your magic do this time?" Her magic did some really _weird_ stuff when she got sick. She'd been sick for two days now.

"Uh…well, the coffee table is doing the Can-Can right now."

I started laughing. I couldn't help it. It was _funny_.

"Are you laughing at me, Arthur Pendragon?" my wife demanded.

I coughed, trying in vain to cover my laugh. "No, of course not. I would never laugh at you."

"I don't believe you."

"Whatever."

I dished up two plates and took those into the living room. The coffee table was still dancing. I shook my head. "Can't you make that thing stop?"

"I've tried! I can't."

"Do you know why your magic does that? When you sneeze?"

She shook her head, scowling. "No, but it's why I hate getting colds so much. It doesn't get weird _every_ time I sneeze, thank goodness, but it does get weird a lot of the time."

"That sucks."

She snorted. "That's the understatement of the century. I'll figure it out. Eventually. Thanks for cooking tonight, by the way."

"Yeah, sure."

From the kitchen, the tea kettle whistled.


	13. Thirteen: Retirement

**DECEMBER 14**

I sat in the office, finishing up a report for work. I just wanted to be done with the tedious thing, and maybe watch a game of football.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting my thoughts. I was the only one at home at the moment, so I got up and answered it.

"Dad," I said, surprised, when I saw who it was. While Dad had finally come to accept Merlin, somewhat, he'd never really gone out of his way to come visit us. He had accepted that she was a permanent part of my life, but I doubted that it extended beyond that. He generally tried to ignore her when they were in the same room together. And, like I said, he never came over here to visit without making sure that Merlin wouldn't be here. He usually called ahead of time.

"Hey, son. Can I come in?"

"Sure." I opened the door wider and let him in. We sat down on the couch. "Uh, what do you need?"

"Is Merlin home?"

I felt myself tense. That probably wasn't a good sign, him asking about her like that. That was usually how he asked over the phone. So why hadn't he called ahead this time? "She's at the store. What do you need?"

He sighed. "Well, I was actually hoping to talk to both of you about something."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "About what? What could you possibly want to talk to both of us about?"

"Maybe we could wait for her to get back."

"It could be hours, especially if she looks at the book section. Which she is almost guaranteed to do because she can't seem to resist. Just go ahead and tell me, Dad. I'll pass the message on to Merlin. What do you want to talk to us about?"

"My retirement."

That wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't think he was going to retire for a while. A _long_ while. So why was he mentioning it now? "Retirement?" I repeated.

"Yes. I want to retire as soon as you get your bachelor's degree."

I was stunned. "But that's…that's only a few years from now. I won't be ready to take over the company in just a few years."

"I want to start _getting_ you ready now. I was thinking of giving you more of the responsibilities of the company, slowly, so you'll be ready to take over when you graduate. Is that something you'd be comfortable with? You'll have to put in more hours."

I was still surprised. I hadn't expected him to be ready to retire for about ten more years, long _after_ I graduated. "I'm not sure, Dad. I don't know if I'm quite ready for that yet. I mean, Merlin and I are still getting started."

"I understand, son. I wanted to run it by you before I made any retirement plans."

"Well, let me talk to Merlin about it. We'll decide together, since it would affect her as much as it would affect me. We kind of were expecting to have a family already by the time I took over. Kids."

He nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything else. I want you to do what's best for you. Both of you."

I felt a grin spread across my face as a new though occurred to me. I couldn't help it. I also couldn't believe it. "You're starting to like my nerdy wife, aren't you?"

Instead of answering, Dad just scowled. He stood up quickly, avoiding my question. Which, in all honesty, was all the answer I needed. He couldn't have been more obvious if he'd been holding a neon sign. "I've got to get going. Discuss it with Merlin, and let me know. Take as much time as you need before you decide. It's a big decision to make."

I laughed. "I knew it! You _are_ starting to like her!"

Dad left, still scowling.

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><p><strong>I know that I've been terrible about updating. I'm so sorry. :( I just got super busy and then my laptop started to die on me, so I only used it when I absolutely had to. I also hit a block. I had a couple of chapters ready to go on my computer (I'll be posting the next one in a minute), and so I'm getting those up. But it might be a while before I post again. I'll try to get another chapter done as soon as I can, I promise. I just haven't had the time. Thanks for continuing to read! <strong>


	14. Fourteen: Birthday

**JULY 19**

I drove to my sister's apartment, holding Merlin's hand over the center console. "Your sister is a pain in the butt to shop for," my wife said, as if I didn't already know.

I snorted. "Tell me about it. I've been doing it for twenty years now, and it hasn't gotten any easier. I think we did pretty good, though."

Merlin and I had finally decided to get Morgana a year-long membership to a beauty spa. Her favorite beauty spa. It had only taken us weeks to decide what to get her. But once we had decided, I figured it was genius. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before.

"I think we did," she agreed. "And hey, if it's a success, we can always do it again next year."

"Good point."

I pulled into the complex's parking lot and parked in a space near the building. We both got out and walked to the apartment. Merlin was holding the envelope with the card and spa membership card.

I knocked. Only a moment later, the door opened. Morgana pulled me and my wife into a tight hug. She was all dressed up, wearing a sequin dress and intense makeup.

"Uh, I didn't realize it was formal," I said. I was wearing a red button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and grey slacks. Merlin was wearing black trousers and a blue blouse with a purple scarf. Nothing fancy.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm the only one dressed up. Hello, birthday girl. Of course I'm dressed up. Come in, come in." We walked in behind her. She pointed to a table with a pile of presents on top of it. She narrowed her eyes at us. "Presents go there. You _did_ bring a present, didn't you?"

Merlin held up the envelope. "Yep. Right here."

"Hmm. That's awfully small."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Oh, don't be ungrateful. You'll love it."

"Mmm-hmm. Sure. Hey, you'll never guess what happened last night, Merlin."

I tried not to be offended by the fact that she was completely ignoring me. Then again, knowing my sister, she was probably going to talk about something that I didn't care about. At all.

"What?"

"Leon and I are back together again."

I shook my head. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. "For how long this time?" I muttered. Merlin elbowed me, giving me _A Look_. I raised my hands in defense. "What? It's true. They've been on and off since that high school dance. They haven't managed to stay together to stay together for more than three months at a time. Ever. Why should this time be any different?"

"Anyway," Morgana said, smiling, "we're back together again. He's out on the balcony, talking to Gwen and Lance. And some of my new neighbors. You guys, as usual, are the last ones here."

Merlin immediately pointed at me, which I thought was unfair. "It's entirely his fault. He took forever to get ready."

"Bull," I told her. "You were the one who took twenty minutes to find your shoes."

"Excuses, excuses. Come on. Let's get my party started."

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><p><strong>Okay, guys. This is it for now. I'll update when I can, but I don't know when that will be. <strong>


	15. Fifteen: Anniversary

**Here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**

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><p><strong>OCTOBER 17<strong>

I sat across from Merlin. I couldn't believe we'd already been married for an entire year. It was crazy. It truly didn't feel like that long. It felt like it had only been a few weeks. Of course, we'd had our ups and downs. Luckily, we didn't very many big fights. Just little ones that we were able to solve within a few hours. Sometimes a day. We worked through our problems.

So far, we'd had a great anniversary. We had gone bowling earlier in the day, and then we went to see a movie. And now we were eating dinner at a nice restaurant. It wasn't anything fancy, but our schedules were pretty busy so we hadn't wanted to do anything too extravagant. Well, _my_ schedule was busy, since Merlin and I had decided that it would be good for us if I started getting ready to take over my dad's company, like he'd suggested. Maybe once we'd settled into a more routine schedule we'd do something fancy, like a cruise or trip overseas. I know Merlin would love to visit Britain again.

But tonight was good. Actually, tonight was great.

Merlin _was_ being awfully quiet, though.

I set my fork down and looked at her. She'd been like this ever since the movie theater. It was starting to worry me. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong."

"All right, then. What are you thinking about? Even if there is nothing wrong, there is definitely something on your mind. What is it?"

She sighed, fiddling with her fork. "It's just…I haven't done much since I got my degree. I mean, I'm still not sure if I really want to start my own bookstore or not. I basically just sit around all day."

_And write a novel,_ I thought to myself. But I didn't say anything to Merlin. I was pretty sure that she didn't know that I knew that she had started writing a novel. She could tell me whenever she was ready. I thought it was awesome. I was kinda proud of her for it. She always had unique ideas. I was pretty sure that she'd be successful.

"Okay, but I'm not really sure where you're going with this."

She looked down at her plate. "I…kind of want…I want a baby."

I had to remind myself to breathe. "A baby?" I squeaked.

Merlin nodded, looking miserable. "Maybe it's not quite the right time, but I feel like I'm ready for a baby. I don't know how you feel about it, though." Her face made me certain that she thought that I hated the idea of having a baby right now.

I was stunned. We'd only been married for one year, and I hadn't really thought about kids. I mean, we'd talked wanting them eventually. Kids were definitely part of the plan. Three, to be exact. We both wanted three kids at some point. But so soon?

Maybe I was ready. I wasn't really sure. One thing I did know was that here and now wasn't the place or the time to be thinking about it.

"Well, I don't think we should decide anything for sure tonight, but I do think that I might be ready for this. Or at least, almost ready. We should discuss it for sure. Just not here, and not tonight. Tonight, we should focus on just us."

She nodded, smiling softly. "I like that idea."


	16. Sixteen: Drunk

**FEBRUARY 7**

I watched my wife, eager to see what she thought of the wine. It was her twenty-first birthday, and her first time trying wine. I was pretty confident she was going to like the Merlot, and not just because its name was similar to hers. I had grown up hearing about the different kinds of wines and their attributes. My father had a large collection.

And, by the look on her face, I'd been right. She was loving it.

"Happy birthday!" I said.

"Mmm. It's delicious. Thank you."

Our meal came then, stopping our conversation for the moment.

It was apparent that I'd done a good job planning her birthday dinner. She was especially enjoying the wine.

Maybe she was enjoying the wine a little too much. It didn't take her very long at all to start getting a little…drunk. Her alcohol threshold wasn't very high, apparently.

It was pretty entertaining for me. She kept giggling and then hiccupping. I actually thought it was pretty cute that she couldn't seem to get a single coherent sentence out, especially considering the fact that she really hadn't drunk much. At least, I thought it was cute until her eyes flashed gold and the candles started to float into the air.

I reached out and grabbed the two candles, struggling to hold them down. "Merlin," I hissed. "Stop it!"

She giggled, but the candles stopped moving, thankfully. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Fortunately, they hadn't.

I called for the check, muttering to myself, "No more alcohol in public."

I ushered Merlin out of the restaurant, hoping that nothing else magical happened while people were around. My wife laughed the entire way home.

I could swear my seat was laughing, too. And calling me "Fat Butt."

Finally, I was able to get my drunk wife into the apartment. Almost immediately, our furniture started singing songs from _Tangled_. Seriously?

I shook my head. What was the deal with Merlin making the furniture sing and dance all the time? Couldn't she choose something else to do with her magic? And why had she chosen a _Disney_ movie this time?

"Okay, I don't think you should be allowed to have any more alcohol. Ever. You don't hold it well, apparently."

She giggled again, and sloppily wrapped her arms around my neck. "Ah, come on, babe," she slurred. "It's fun."

"Did you just call me, 'babe'?" The word just sounded wrong coming from Merlin's mouth.

"Sure I did." She gave me a sloppy kiss and then started dragging me toward the bedroom.

Huh. Maybe Drunk Merlin wasn't _all_ bad.


	17. Seventeen: Feeling Off

**MARCH 29**

I walked into the apartment, sighing heavily. It had been a long day. I'd had to stay to finish a report that was due first thing in the morning.

I put my briefcase inside the office before going into the kitchen.

"Merlin!" I called, getting myself a glass of water. I hadn't seen or heard her, even though she usually greeted me when I got home.

"In the bedroom," she called back.

"Want anything from the kitchen?"

"No thanks."

I took my water with me to the bedroom. Merlin was lying in bed, reading a book. But she didn't look very involved in it, which was unusual for her. Usually, she was either screaming at the stupidity of the characters in the book, or she was so absorbed in the events that I could dance in front of her without her noticing. It was kind of weird, the way she got so involved.

Maybe it wasn't a very good book.

"What are you reading?"

"What? Oh, _The_ _Thief_, by Megan Whalen Turner."

I stared at her. She loved that book. It was one of her favorites, and she _always_ got really into it, trying to find all of the author's clever clues. She said that it was the cleverest book ever written. She'd been trying to get me to read it for months now. "And you're not totally absorbed in it? What's wrong?"

She set the book down, sighing. "I'm not really sure. I just feel…off. My magic can sense that something isn't quite right with my body. But I can't pinpoint the problem. It's weird."

"How long have you felt off?"

She shrugged. "A few weeks, maybe. But it's worse today. Not worse. Just more noticeable. Usually, I can ignore the feeling."

"A few weeks?" The more I thought about it, though, the more sense it made. She had been acting a little distracted the past couple weeks. It was just little tiny things, things that probably only I would notice. Still, I couldn't believe I hadn't put two and two together and figured that she must not have been feeling her best. "Merlin, you should probably go see a doctor. You need to figure out what's wrong. It could be serious, especially since it's been going on for weeks."

"I don't know. I don't really feel sick or anything. Just…off."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to have any issues. If it's serious, we should get it taken care of now, not when it might be too late. Especially since we're trying to get pregnant."

"I know. But like I said, I don't feel sick. But," she added, "if I start to feel any worse, I promise that I'll go to the doctor."

"You better. I'll hold you to that." I frowned at her. "Wait. You don't think you could be pregnant, do you?"

She shook her head. "I doubt it. I took a pregnancy test, just in case. It was negative."


	18. Eighteen: Surprise

**You lucky ducks, getting three whole chapters in one day! I thought about waiting to post this one, for dramatic effect, but then I decided not to. Hope you enjoy it!**

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><p><strong>APRIL 21<strong>

I walked into the apartment, unable to keep a grin off my face. Merlin had texted me earlier that she had a birthday surprise for me. She hadn't said what _kind_ of surprise, but I could take a guess.

"Merlin!" I called.

No answer.

Frowning, I peeked into the kitchen. She wasn't there. Or the office. Or the bathroom. Or the bedroom. Where was she? Her car was in the parking lot.

Then arms snaked around my waist. It was Merlin. "Happy birthday," she whispered into my ear. She kissed my cheek.

"Hey, Merlin. Any special plans tonight?"

I felt her shrug against my back. "Not necessarily. I was thinking of going to see a movie or something. But those plans might change."

I frowned slightly. She had made it sound like she a huge night planned. "They might change depending on what?"

"On how you react to what I have to tell you. This entire night is dependent on you."

"What do you have to tell me?" I was suspicious. Something was going on.

She turned my body so I was facing her. She had a look of pure joy on her face. What in the world was going on? "Do you remember how we decided to stop taking the birth control about five months ago?"

"Yes," I answered slowly. I had a feeling I knew where she was going with this, but I didn't want to get too excited.

"Well," she said. "I finally figured out why I was feeling off lately. I'm pregnant, Arthur. We're going to have a baby."

"Wait, seriously? We're really going to have a baby?" Even as I asked, I lifted her into my arms and spun her around.

She smiled and nodded. "We're really going to have a baby."

"I thought you had taken a pregnancy test and it was negative?"

She rolled her eyes. "Apparently, those things can be wrong sometimes."

I laughed, I was so happy. "How far along are you? Do you know?"

"Almost three months, according to my magic." Wait, did she say according to her _magic_? Huh? "Do you want to know the gender?"

I stated at her. "You can tell already? This early?"

"Uh-huh. It's amazing what my magic was able to sense once I realized that I was pregnant. I couldn't figure out what was causing me to feel off because my body and my magic weren't familiar with pregnancy. But I can now tell you just about anything you want to know about the baby, including but not limited to, the gender."

"Tell me. It's a boy, isn't it? A strong little boy." I'd always wanted a boy.

She shook her head. "Sorry. It's a strong little girl."

I smiled. Sure, I'd been hoping for a boy. But I was more than happy to have a daughter. Besides, we both wanted three kids. I'd have two more chances to get my boy.

A daughter.

Holy cow.

I was going to be a dad.


	19. Ninteen: Four Months

**JUNE 17**

Merlin and I walked into the auditorium, holding hands. Merlin was checking her phone in her free hand. She had just gotten a text from her mom. "My parents are running late, but they'll be here."

I glanced around, at the full auditorium. "They might not get a seat. It's pretty packed."

"I'll text them and let them know. Do you see your family yet?"

"Uh…" I looked around for my family while she responded to her parents. "Ah, there they are. Morgana's waving us over."

"I don't really need to be escorted over there, Arthur. I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own, despite the fact that I'm pregnant," she muttered, but she continued to follow me.

"I know that. I want to chat with my parents real quick, before I line up."

Morgana squealed and stood up as soon as we reached their seats. She hugged Merlin, completely ignoring me. I was used to that, though. "Oh my gosh, Merlin," she gushed, studying my wife carefully. "You finally look pregnant. It's only taken you _four_ _months_."

Gwen grinned. "Even then, you can hardly tell." I had to agree with her. Merlin's baby bump was hardly there at all. You really had to look for it, unless she was wearing skin-tight clothes. "I never would have guessed if I didn't already know. You're so tiny."

My mom smiled warmly at my wife. "Count your blessings, Merlin. I remember being about twice your size when I was four months along with both Arthur and Morgana."

Smiling, Merlin caressed her belly, where our beautiful daughter was growing. "Oh, I'm not complaining, Ygraine. I can still fit into most of my clothes. I haven't really had to buy any maternity clothes yet."

Dad looked at Merlin. "How are you feeling?" he asked, and he sounded pretty sincere.

My wife and I exchanged a brief smile. My dad was actually concerned about my nerdy wife. It had taken him a while, but he'd finally gotten over his prejudice against her. He still wouldn't admit it, but hey, baby steps. We were getting there, slowly but surely. At some point, we were probably going to tell my family about Merlin's magic, but not anytime soon. I wanted to put _that_ conversation off as long as I possibly could.

"Not bad," she answered him. "The morning sickness is all but gone. It wasn't even bad to begin with, though. But the heartburn has been unbelievable."

I shook my head, running my fingers softly through her black hair. "Her cravings are starting to get weird. Really weird." Last night, she'd asked for a peanut butter and pickle sandwich.

Seriously. Peanut butter and pickle. _Sweet_ pickles. With peanut butter.

Nasty.

Dad grinned, almost evilly. "Oh, just wait, son. Pretty soon, you'll be making trips to the grocery store at four in the morning for her weird cravings."

Mom shook her head at my dad. "Have you been able to find out the gender yet? Or is it still too early?"

Merlin and I look at each other. Of course, we couldn't tell my parents that we already knew the gender. They'd want to see the ultrasound pictures, which we didn't have yet. And despite the fact that my dad had come to accept Merlin, I was pretty sure that would change if he knew about her magic. Like I said, baby steps.

"Uh, no," I lied. "We don't know the gender. Not yet. We go in for an ultrasound next week to find that out. Sometimes, they can tell as early as eleven weeks. But they usually don't find out until closer to sixteen weeks. Our appointment's on Wednesday."

"You have to call me as soon as you find out," Morgana insisted.

"Whatever," Merlin and I responded together.

Lance hurried up to me, his graduation cap under his arm. "Arthur, dude, we gotta get in line. Like, now. It's time to start."


	20. Twenty: Names

**AUGUST 8**

Merlin cuddled into my side on our bed. I placed my hands over her stomach, wishing that I could feel the baby kick. Just once. That was all that I was asking. "How come she never kicks when I'm around?" I complained. Merlin had felt her kick dozens of times, but I never got that opportunity. Every time I put my hands on my wife's stomach, there was no movement.

My daughter was as stubborn as her mother. And she already had her favorite parent, apparently. Which wasn't me.

She shrugged. "I don't know, Arthur. She doesn't kick a lot, period. She's a pretty calm baby."

I sighed, then pressed my hands even closer to her belly. "Come on, Baby," I begged. "Kick for me. Kick for Daddy."

Nothing.

_Again_.

It wasn't fair.

Merlin pushed me away, but she had a small grin on her face. She didn't mind me touching her baby bump all the time. Which was good, because I just couldn't help myself. I was kind of amazed at the whole pregnancy process. I mean, seriously. There was an entire _human_ growing in her stomach. How could there possibly be enough for a _baby_? It was a miracle. "Oh, stop that. And you can't keep calling her 'Baby,' you know. We need to decide on a name for this little girl."

"We're not naming her after any book or movie or TV show character," I said immediately. I had a feeling she wanted to name our daughter after one of the many characters she loved. I was drawing the line there. No way was I going to let that happen. "I was okay with a nerdy wedding. But giving our daughter a nerd name that will stay with her for the rest of her life is going too far."

I could almost feel her rolling her eyes. "No, clotpole. I don't want to give her a character's name. Sheesh. What do you take me for?"

"Uh…a _nerd_?"

"Watch it."

"I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just a fact. You are a nerd. A beautiful, smart, clever nerd."

"Whatever. Anyway, there was actually a name that you suggested the other night that I like. Macey. Well, maybe not for a first name. I like it as a middle name. But then I had a brilliant idea this morning."

I looked up at her, sure that she was going to say something bratty. Like Hermione or Katniss or Annabeth or something stupid like that. She was grinning, which didn't necessarily make me less suspicious. When she grinned, it usually meant that I wouldn't like what was going to come out of her mouth. "Yeah?" I asked slowly. "What is it?"

"Harper. Harper Macey Pendragon."

I mulled it over. I said it out loud a few times. I even grabbed a notepad and wrote it down to see how it would look on paper.

Then I grinned. "You know what? I think that's perfect."


End file.
